


Used to Be

by starrylitme



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Blood and Injury, Comfort, Implied Relationships, M/M, Mental Instability, Mild Language, Past Abuse, Past Character Death, Post-Canon, SHSL Rare Pair Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-28
Updated: 2015-03-28
Packaged: 2018-03-20 01:40:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3631845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrylitme/pseuds/starrylitme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"This world used to be hers, and now it's yours."</p>
<p>"You've got that wrong."</p>
<p>(Komaeda may have gotten better since he woke up, but Naegi still worries over him terribly. Others are still wary too, and rightfully so, but it wouldn't be like Naegi to lose hope so easily. That said, he's still bothered by how Komaeda looks to him with those bright, bright eyes reflecting some grand absolute ideal, especially considered to Enoshima Junko and that's... Well, that's wrong. He isn't like her at all. Even as a counterpart.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Used to Be

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea what the hell is up with the bold on the formatting but for some reason it's been finicky with the pasting on pretty much every browser I'm trying to copy and paste from word. It's really, really annoying and I'd like for it to stop.
> 
> Komaegi is so dear to me, I don't understand why I haven't written more Komaegi.
> 
> Especially post-sdr2 Komaegi we need so much more post-sdr2 Komaegi, you feel me?
> 
> Post-sdr2 KomaHiNaegi too. Please.
> 
> But for now, for SHSL RPW, it's just Komaegi even though KomaHina is kiiiiiinda there in the background.

“This used to be her world,” The words were wistful, almost sighed heavily as those eyes looked out distantly, dreamily at the world and its wreckage, at the debris still littering the ground, the buildings broken and some still collapsing, but at the calm of it all—how it truly felt like the aftermath of a storm with the sky finally clearing overhead. Komaeda looked up brightly at the light blues, the drifting clouds, and his hands—one organic, the other robotic—gripped the railing tightly. “And now...”

Komaeda turned back at him, eyes alit and avid, and wide smile ardent and adoring. “It’s yours now, Naegi-kun.”

Naegi swallowed, and his own smile was sad, laugh rueful. “No, that’s wrong, Komaeda-kun.”

And yet, to his dismay, Komaeda’s smile remained as though those words hadn’t registered, and he simply shook his head, denying them altogether. Naegi’s smile fell, but he manage to stumble forward, reaching his hand out, muttering, “Come on, the Future Foundation is waiting, Komaeda-kun.”

All the same, Komaeda takes his hand with his own—the real one, which is warmed by Naegi’s tight grip and the elder youth giggles innocently, unsettlingly, but all the same, Naegi pulls him away from the view of that wrecked world and back on the track of their current mission.

* * *

The members of the Future Foundation are still on edge with Komaeda around—even compared to the rest of the former ex-SHSL Despair. It’s Komaeda that’s deemed the most dangerous, and Naegi, who was warned directly by Komaru, knows this better than anyone. That said, one thing that both bothers the others and yet also calms their fears is the plain fact that out of all of them, it’s Komaeda who has taken to Naegi the most. At times it’s as though Naegi has become the new idol to worship following Enoshima Junko’s fall and steady eradication.

That’s one of the things that concerns Naegi the most, if he were to be honest.

_I have no intention of being anything like Enoshima-san,_  he thinks, sharply as he sighs.  _Even if it’s just her opposite. That’s not what I want at all._

And yet Komaeda looks at him all the same with those bright eyes reflecting back an absolute good formed for the sake of defeating the absolute evil that had been Enoshima. Even though Naegi didn’t think that way— _that’s not what hope is, Komaeda-kun,_ ** _please_** —but of course, those scars left by her nails wouldn’t fade so easily despite that. Even now, it feels as though she’s still out there somewhere, brewing underneath and ready to pop back up in a moment’s notice. Certainly, he knows there are emulations attempting it in a sense.

For Komaeda, a lot of those scars ran especially deep, though he’s yet to have broken down like Tsumiki had a few times. But she’s recovering— _everyone’s recovering_ —and Naegi is hopeful for Komaeda’s sake all the same. Actually, he does think that Komaeda’s better than the state he was in when killed in the simulation, at least.

But there are still issues. Still a sting in those scars, especially with how Komaeda reacts a certain way when he interprets words or a situation a certain way. He and Hinata ended up avoiding one another for days because of some incident, and even though he always trailed after Naegi, it felt like at that time he was outright clinging to him. But they had gotten better. He hoped they had. They just recently were seen conversing, however awkward it may have been.

Still, Komaeda looks at his most comfortable when he’s with Naegi, not Hinata. He finds it his easiest to smile, to pick up his usual cheerful persona when Naegi’s around, and also...

Naegi is the one of the few if not the only one who Komaeda allows to hold or squeeze his right hand.

* * *

But there are still issues.

“To think these are the hands that destroyed Enoshima Junko,” Naegi’s corrected him countless times she destroyed herself, but with that knowing smile on Komaeda’s face, it’s likely he had seen it himself—he gathered the hand from her crushed corpse after all, there’s no way Naegi could have done something like that to  _anyone_ , even someone who had giddily sent him to that fate only a few hours prior. Komaeda’s fingers— _cold, one clad in colder leather than the other_ —traced the lines of his palm, thumb running over the longest—the one that supposedly told how long he was going to live, Hagakure once told him. Komaeda had scoffed at such then, but now he kisses that line, lips drifting up against the veins on his wrist, nuzzling against it, smiling against the warm skin, “Rebuilding the world she destroyed with these hands—you really are SHSL Hope, Naegi-kun.”

“Komaeda-kun, that’s enough,” Naegi leaned back in his chair, and he tried not to flinch when Komaeda pushed him further back, kneeling before him and kissing his knee. Naegi’s sigh grew heavier. “Komaeda-kun, I’m serious...”

“Would you prefer,” Komaeda murmurs, pressing his forehead to his knees, hands running down from the sides of his thighs to his calves, “If I licked your shoes like I had for her?”

Naegi blinks at that, and his sad frown deepening as his hand lifts and threads his fingers through thick white tresses. Komaeda is the one who does flinch as his hair is stroked before he relaxes, sighing ever so softly.

“Naegi-kun,” he whispers, and then his voice drops, almost into a whine, “ _Naegi-kun_...”

“Hush,” Naegi mutters lowly, and he does, stiffening for just a moment before the brunet continues, “Just...go back and rest, Komaeda-kun. It’s late.”

Komaeda pulls away and leaves without another word. With him gone, Naegi lets himself fully sink, burying his face in his hands.

* * *

He does remember a couple of things about Komaeda— ** _prior_** _to the tragedy that had set the world’s ruin_ —though those regained memories of his still feel finicky, hard to really place his faith in, and even Kirigiri avoided mentioning the reunion with those lost moments Enoshima had stolen from them.

Komaeda, he remembers, had always been strange. Off. But never once does he remember being afraid of him or thinking of him as a bad person. In fact they had been...amicable. At a point where Naegi could have easily called him a friend, however distant they were and how little they saw one another, being in separate classes and all.

Komaeda had once praised his optimism even after indirectly calling him dull and absolutely trivial in terms of his talent right to his face. But he smiled kindly, almost sadly, as though it were just an unfortunate fact rather than an insult. Naegi, however stung, had laughed it off and past that, spoke to him as he had with his other classmates.

At some point, he wound up wrapping the other’s injured hand—though he can’t recall how, just that the nurse had been out and he was scared by how much it had been bleeding even as Komaeda had an unaffected blank smile on his face—but he does remember many points in which Komaeda smiled at him, warm and calm, and he does remember Komaeda laughing sometimes in his presence, sincere and cheery, as though he was really enjoying his company after all.

He’s not wholly sure if Komaeda remembers any of these himself—and if so, to what degree. Komaeda remembers the simulation, he’s sure, but anything else? Komaeda just wouldn’t say, but for the others, it was vague. Clearer at some points depending. But none of them liked thinking about those things—he doubts Komaeda would be an exception. Especially with the way he sometimes looks at his mechanic hand and flexes it as though making sure it still worked, and making the strangest most unreadable expression when it did.

But Naegi does remember for sure the first time he had met Komaeda after the mutual killings— _prior to the simulation and prior to even figuring out he had been a remnant of SHSL Despair_ —the brightness in his presence, the chaotic swirl in his eyes, and that wide, wide grin...

_“SHSL Hope, **Naegi Makoto** -kun—”_

It’s something that, actually, Naegi wouldn’t have minded forgetting. He remembers, too, the look on Komaru’s face when they met again, even when it was uncertain if Komaeda remembered. All the same, Naegi couldn’t have looked at Komaeda— _then, now, whenever he thinks about the other_ —and deny that there was a person there who needed to be saved along with the others. Who he had saved with the others and despite everything, had yet to even slightly regret it.

Togami had called him foolish, as had Fukawa who—

“It’s disgusting. He’s still disgusting.” Her voice was screechy, biting into her thumbnail even as Naegi politely if a bit wanly smiled. “Anyone with function functioning eyes could see the way that disgusting creep drools over you. It’s sickening how shameless he is about it!  _‘Naegi-kun’, ‘Naegi-kun’_! It’s so nauseatingly saccharine that my stomach hurt for hours afterwards.” A snarl, and Naegi felt his own stomach twist as she went on, “That he even acts that way after what happened in Towa City—I find it hard to believe he doesn’t really remember the shit he put us through—especially seeing as he still says  _Byakuya-sama’s_  name as he did before— ** _urgh_**! He’s so contemptible, he should have been just left braindead in a coma.”

“Fukawa-san, that wouldn’t have been fair.” He sighs even if on some level he understands all too well, especially with the harshness he faced from the Future Foundation for his decision. Especially from Togami himself, even if Togami ultimately sided with him and Kirigiri. Fukawa glared at him disdainfully, and Naegi remained steady. “I’m never going to abandon anyone if I can avoid it—if there’s a way to save someone, I’m going to take it. There’s hope for anyone once you give them a chance.”

“You’re an idiot. A god-forsakenly foolish one.” She sneered, and Naegi would have just smiled, would have just apologized and left it at that, had Fukawa not called for him one he turned around and had only walked a few steps. “Naegi, wait.”

He does pause, and she continues, softly, harshly so that he knows it’s still Fukawa, even though they are certainly  _her_  words being conveyed, “You said that the simulation worked for the most part—that it changed them in the ways you were hoping for, and while I see the ways in that’s true... I still see the ways in which that guy is the same sickening shit-spewing asshole that tried to get Komaru nearly killed by that bitch inside me. Even if the simulation worked, there are still some shit-stains you can’t ever wash out. So be careful, understood? The last thing I want is Komaru bitching and moaning about the trouble you got yourself into by continuing to consort with that guy like the careless idiot you sometimes are.” She does laugh, however dull and humorless the sound is. It sounds almost cruel as she considers, “What if he decides killing you is the ‘best option’ or whatever nonsense he manages to convince himself of? There’s just no telling with someone like that. He’s worse than Syo in some ways. At least that bitch is  _consistent_. But in regards to that guy, you can’t ever be sure. So don’t be so idealistic and naïve as you are usually—be  ** _careful_**.”

“Fukawa-san,” he could only respond back then—it surprised him, really, and he wondered if that had been Komaru’s influence or if Fukawa had really changed so much in all this time. “Thank you. I’ll be careful, but...” And he still sticks by this, “I don’t think Komaeda-kun will be that big of a threat anymore. He’s gotten better. Even if something happens I... I won’t lose hope.”

Fukawa snorted, but she still wished him well in her more usual way. That was more than Naegi could have asked for.

* * *

He’s not so naïve he thinks Komaeda isn’t dangerous, even awake and recovering. He’d seen the simulation—he saw how he ended up breaking  _again_  and how that breakdown bled into his waking up, even if he had gotten ‘better’. The Future Foundation still also knows him as the reason behind their near crushing loss of the AI Nanami Chiaki. Even though Hinata’s by far the closest to Komaeda compared to his other former classmates and, in fact, is the only one Komaeda really talks to outside of Naegi and the occasional Kirigiri anymore, Naegi still picks up on the other brunet’s wariness when dealing with Komaeda, when talking about him with tired resignation.

But he and Komaeda still work together well enough. And Komaeda worked well enough with Naegi—so he still held hope and faith. Even in this still destroyed, desolate place where they need to pick up the pieces from Enoshima’s worldwide wrecked despair.

“It’s not as bad as Towa City at its worse, and at least things are improving if not for the androids still running amuck,” Komaeda was saying, casually and cheerily and when he comes across the torn off piece of a Monokuma’s paw, claws extended, he tapped it with the tip of his shoe. No response, though Naegi was still on edge and tempted to  _yank the elder away from there_ —

When he hears that tell-tale tittering of what could only be a functional Monokuma, it’s as though everything drops to the ground as Naegi freezes. Komaeda exhales an ‘oh’ over that  _‘u **pu** pu **pu** ’_—

“I can’t believe I’ve forgotten what it sounded like...”

“Komaeda-kun,” Naegi snaps, direct and to the point. “We need to leave now and return to the others.”

“Eh, eh?” Komaeda blinked a few times, and then giggled as Naegi’s teeth gritted. “Don’t tell me the SHSL Hope is scared—you know how to use your weapon don’t you? Are you saying you can’t handle it? Because couldn’t  _your sister_ —”

“We don’t have time for this!!” he exclaimed, shouting. Then it felt like things were going slowly—Komaeda’s eyes went wide, he actually took a few steps back, and before Naegi could reach for him with the intent of pulling him back, that was when the roof above them collapsed and fell between them.

_That_  part happened so quickly that he thinks he blanked out—but once he comes back to, he finds he’s shaken but ultimately unharmed for the most part. His eyes stung from the dust, but he quickly gathered the megaphone close and he looked around.

Komaeda wasn’t there. Just piles of rocks between him and wherever he assumed the other had used to be.

And when he called, voice cracking, Komaeda didn’t answer.

“Oh  _shit_.”

* * *

Thing is, Komaeda is one of those people Naegi can’t help but worry the most over—worry about, in a lot of respects. Sometimes, oftentimes, those worries are tied intrinsically together since Naegi’s long since figured out that in addition to being the biggest liability to everyone else, Komaeda is without a doubt the biggest threat to himself as well. There are some things that take time to fix and Komaeda’s more self-destructive qualities are a prime example. He still self-deprecates so easily, especially so when praising Naegi. It’s something that actually does sicken him, even if it’s not in the same way...

Though... There are still...

_“You look utterly unimpressive still—have little of note when it comes to your aura and yet...”_

...some things...

_“You’re the one who bested her, aren’t you? Aah! That look in your eyes! It really is so **lovely** —”_

“KOMAEDA-KUN!!” Naegi wasn’t sure how many times he’s screamed, and he’s not sure how much of this collapsed building he’s searched. Collapsing. He just heard that telltale crumbling again, stilling him in his place— _but it was distant, not_ ** _here_** _, but where it could have been could be where_ ** _Komaeda_** —he’s running again, uncaring of that stinging pain in his feet, heart hammering painfully against his chest, and god,  _god_ , he’s pleading so much,  _please,_ ** _please_** _, let Komaeda-kun be_ —

“Komaeda-kun...” He just barely found his voice again, and the name was so irritatingly weak that he had to have been just saying it for his own sake and not for Komaeda to really answer to, but...

“N...Nae...” A voice—however weak it was, echoing through the concrete walls and broken parts—it was still a  _voice_. “Naegi-kun...?”

“Komaeda-kun?!”

Somehow he pushes his way through the debris, though not without the scrapes and scratches, tumbling into the...room? It reeked of dust and...oil? When he looked around, the first thing he spotted was the sparkling remains of a Monokuma bot, and he could only inhale, shoulders shaking. The machine was recently disposed of— _that sound earlier..._  It was the Monokuma that had gotten stuck underneath the partial collapse.

“Ah, Naegi-kun...”

Naegi spun around immediately in the direction of that voice.

_“That look in your eyes— **I see**!!”_

“Komaeda-kun...?”

_“You really ** _are_ SHSL Hope** _!!”__

He blinked hard, forcing those images back so that they wouldn’t distract him from the real Komaeda, smiling up at him and waving with a pale hand. “I see both you and my luck never fail me, Naegi-kun. It’s a relief you came in time before my body bled out, right?”

Naegi’s gaze drifted down, and he nearly blanched. Komaeda’s robotic hand had been pressed hard against his side—but there was no mistaking the darkening stain against his dark green coat and that vermillion pool underneath, however mercifully small it might have been.

_I don’t have anything on me to treat that._  He thinks and he almost panics. _I have to get him back I have to get him back—_

“K-Komaeda-kun, I’ll help you stand...” He’s moving, thankfully, reaching out and taking Komaeda’s hand, trying not to let his grip shake as he pulls the other up. Komaeda grunts, sounding a bit pained— _does his face look grayer?_ —but he sighs and smiles as Naegi supports him, keeping his hand over Komaeda’s over the injury, just in case it helped in any way. The glove and jacket both felt a little slick, damp, he shut his eyes tight for a moment and forced himself not to think as he continued, “Let’s get back— _let’s just get back_...”

“I think that Monokuma was the only stray one,” Komaeda says, and he would have sighed in relief had the other not continued, “But you never know! They’re like roaches sometimes—creeping up and ready to pounce in a moment’s notice... And with me like this...”

“Komaeda-kun, please. That’s not helping at all.”

“SHSL Hope really shouldn’t be so affected by what someone like  _me_  has to say.” A sigh, almost a huff into his ear despite Komaeda leaning into him, causing him to stumble a bit as he led the way out, stiff and on edge. But he saw Komaeda’s smile return in his peripherals, and he swallowed as the other cheerily went on, “You really are far too considerate, Naegi-kun—perhaps to the point that might be an actual fault of yours. Don’t you think that sometimes, you care a little too much about the nonsense of others?”

“Komaeda-kun, stay with me.” Naegi was speaking almost distantly—it felt like his brain was far away from his body but still leading the way, going like hurry, hurry, hurry _, just don’t focus on anything else, we need to get out of here_ —“It can’t be that much farther, we’re almost there, right?”

Komaeda giggles. “Naegi-kun, SHSL Hope shouldn’t worry like that. You should just have more hope, you know?”

_Almost there, almost there, almost there..._

“After all,” Komaeda says, and then his lips brush against his ear, “You wouldn’t want to crumble in this despairing situation, would you,  _SHSL Hope_? You, who defeated despair’s wretched queen,  ** _Enoshima Jun_** —”

“Komaeda-kun,” and it was like he snapped back into his place, him somehow finding his voice again, “Just because Kirigiri-san gave me that title doesn’t mean I automatically live up to the image you put to it. I’m still normal—average—unimpressive in most ways. I haven’t changed from that.”

“Don’t be silly, Naegi-kun” Komaeda’s laugh then was without humor. “You became a hero when you bested her.”

“I didn’t lose hope. Or faith in my friends. That’s nothing phenomenal, Komaeda-kun, I’m just...overly optimistic, I guess?” Naegi could see the sky peeking through—a soft blue that was calm and he nearly smiled in his relief, a chuckle escaping his throat. “I... That’s all it’s really been. Nothing special.”

“And yet—you’re on the road to revolutionizing the world from its despair-ridden state.” Komaeda’s tone was duller though, leaning more into him, and almost starting to...drag his feet a bit? Naegi blinked, his eyes slowly widening. “You’re creating such change with that hope of yours— _against_ ** _her_** , could you really keep calling such things—”

“Komae...”

“...normal and nothing else?” His weight was pushing on him more and more, and Naegi had to stand his ground so that he didn’t lose his balance, his grip on Komaeda tightening, but as he turned, he saw Komaeda’s lashes were fluttering. “What I saw that day—I  _remember_ —”

“Komaeda-kun...?”

“Naegi-kun,” Komaeda groans, and then he goes limp against him, letting out a retching gasp. “I-I feel funny...”

“Komaeda-kun?!”

And Naegi could barely think again when Komaeda went unresponsive, his hand pressed to his injury falling twitching against his side so Naegi could feel just how soaked through that spot really was—how sticky, the strong scent of blood hanging in the air all around them and Naegi was almost shaking.

Thankfully, somehow, that was when they had been found by the others.

* * *

When Komaeda was bandaged up and left to rest again, IV and blood transfusion in place; that was when Naegi allowed himself to think things over properly. By Komaeda’s bedside when the other was asleep. Because he was too worried to busy himself elsewhere. The others understood—Asahina even left him some snacks for when he got hungry and Hagakure said not to worry, Komaeda’s future was looking good...outside of the weird black smoke, but that would probably come later and... Well at least the donuts were sweet. And it was the thought that counted. At least Kirigiri had enough sense to drag Hagakure away before he could exasperate him even further.

He’s not sure how long he waited listening to the steady beeping—though the clocks and the nurses indicted it had been a couple of hours. His legs grew stiff enough that he wound up pacing for a little bit, but soon enough, he ended up sitting by Komaeda’s side again, resting his chin on his folded hands as he waited for the other to wake.

He’s not sure how much more time passed when...

“Naegi?” Naegi turned meeting Hinata’s wide-eyed blinking gaze before the other managed to regain himself and swallowed. “Were you here this entire time?”

“Ah, yes...” Naegi glanced down, and upon noticing, he only took a second to register, “You brought flowers, Hinata-kun.”

“S-Sonia made me pick them for him in her absence...” Hinata awkwardly held the bouquet close though. The flowers were all yellow and pleasant enough—Naegi wondered where he had even found them. Those certainly weren’t the ones growing close by the hospital. Hinata already seemed so flustered, but when he looked past Naegi at the still resting Komaeda, his concern was clear. And his voice grew soft as he approached, “I heard it wasn’t that serious but it’s still been a while, hasn’t it? And it’s still hard to not be concerned about a guy like Komaeda...”

He stopped as he reached the edge of the bed, and at Komaeda’s sleeping expression which looked so serene, he sighed heavily. “It doesn’t  _look_  that serious, either. Yet he’s taking his sweet time getting better.”

“I don’t think Komaeda-kun really has a choice in the matter,” Naegi responds, though he can’t help but smile a bit in amusement. It fades when Hinata’s expression remains grim, those red eyes dull as he stares down at his unmoving, save for his steady, soft breathing, former ‘classmate’. Naegi’s lips purse, and he tries to be upbeat, “Komaeda-kun will be fine, though. He wouldn’t let something like this kill him anyway—”

“I know that.” Surprisingly coldly. Naegi nearly flinched and wondered if—no,  _no_ , that was still Hinata staring down in such worry. Such...resignation... “I know how Komaeda  _is_.”

“Hinata-kun...?”

“He still hasn’t changed that much from when I met him.” His voice dropped lower, and then that’s when Naegi knew it  _wasn’t_ Hinata speaking anymore. Those red eyes narrowed, lip pulling back in what could have been a snarl but then he just sighed and placed the flowers on the bedside table. “He’ll get  _better_  soon enough. But I don’t predict he’ll ever be quite  _well_.”

“Kamukura-kun.” Naegi starts, pained. “You’re not the only one who thinks that.”

“But you don’t think that do you?” Kamukura asks, turning on him, crimson gaze boring down despite those otherwise neutral features. “Diseases aside, you haven’t lost hope in this one, have you? It’s naïve and foolish of you, but at this point, it’s expected as well. You truly are different from her, Naegi Makoto.”

Naegi was grateful for that much, though deep down he wondered how Hinata really felt compared to his counterpart. Then, suddenly, the other was speaking again,

“It’s no wonder Komaeda Nagito loves you so wholly. Even compared to his dreary attachment to her...”

“You know,” Komaeda’s voice responds, making Naegi flinch and he quickly turned to see that the white-haired youth was awake, however tired he still looked, staring blankly at Kamukura, still talking with that disapproving tone, “It’s rude to speak about someone when they’re still in the room. I would have thought you’d be at least better than  _that_ , Kamukura-kun.”

“It’s also rude to pretend to be resting when others are worried about you. But it’s not like I don’t know why.” Kamukura exhaled, and Naegi looked between the two of them curiously. Then, as though noting the heaviness in the air, Kamukura continued, “I’ll leave then. Since you’d prefer it if I did. I need to find a vase anyway.”

Komaeda didn’t answer, instead hanging his head only to perk back up when Kamukura said his name again, “Komaeda.” And when he looked up—when Naegi looked over, seeing how Kamukura’s face softened, the slightest of smiles pulling at his lips. He must have realized at the same time Komaeda did, and the older brunet continued, “Get well soon, alright? And please just take it easy.”

Komaeda’s eyes dropped back down but he nodded. “Thank you... Hinata-kun. I should be fine soon enough.”

Hinata nodded in return and traded a look with Naegi before turning and leaving the room, the door making a soft ‘click’ when he shut it behind him. With them alone now...

“Komaeda-kun... How much of that did you hear?”

“Mm. A bit. Kamukura-kun had just started speaking, probably.” Komaeda laughed softly, self-effacingly, and gave him an apologetic smile. “I always freeze up when that happens, but Kamukura-kun really isn’t so bad to speak to. He’s certainly...nicer than when we first met.”

_First met. Komaeda-kun had said he remembered—but how much and to what degree? Does he even recall_ —“Hey, Komaeda-kun...?”

“Naegi-kun?” Komaeda cheekily returns questioningly, stopping him and surprising him with those thin cold fingers wrapping around his wrist. Komaeda’s smile widened, even as it felt like he faltered. “Thank you. I really do like you—”

He didn’t word it the same way Kamukura had, but all the same, Naegi smiled and shook his head, reaching down to grip that hand with his other one, giving a gentle squeeze. “Take it easy,” he repeated what Kamukura had, but quieter and even softer, and he saw all too painfully well how Komaeda’s gaze brightened and warmed. “Komaeda-kun, I’m here if you need me.”

“I’m still unused to that,” the white-haired youth admitted albeit sheepishly, chuckling. “Naegi-kun, you won’t end up destroying yourself, will you?”

Naegi felt himself go cold, inwardly he winced, the pain unexpected and sharp, but he also smothered the image of Enoshima’s grinning face— _flashing them all a peace sign before she was crushed_ —and the thought that came through was all the sterner— ** _I’m not_ like _her_** —before he simply shook his head again, tightening his grip on Komaeda’s cold fingers, warming the flesh underneath with his own.

Traitorously, his mind supplied the words in Komaeda’s voice,  ** _“This used to be hers—it’s_ yours _now...”_**

“Komaeda-kun, I’m not...” He trails off before Komaeda unexpectedly buried his face against his shoulder, causing him to flinch, and then, ever so quietly, he continued, “I’m...here if you need me. You know that, don’t you?”

“Mm.” The agreement was soft, empty enough that he wondered, but for now Naegi accepted it, pulling his hand away to wrap however awkwardly around Komaeda’s shoulders and holding him close. Komaeda, likely, wasn’t used to it—he always responded as though Naegi’s initiated touches were something new, something he wasn’t entirely sure about, and to be honest, Naegi wasn’t entirely sure either.

“Naegi-kun...” Komaeda breathed against his neck, cool air puffing against his skin, and then he shivered in his hold, Naegi shushing him carefully.

“Easy, easy...” And then following, “You’re not alone, you know. I’m here if you need me.”

“Mm.” Komaeda squirmed to get closer, and Naegi nearly hissed when he saw the jerk of the wires, causing the IV to jolt a bit, and his hold tightened to make the other still. Komaeda did still, but then he giggled, right back into his ear, murmuring, “Naegi-kun, you really are different from...”

“Easy, Komaeda-kun.  _Please_  don’t push yourself.”

“I’m just saying,” he went on, and Naegi feels one of his arms wrapping around his back, returning the embrace, pulling him closer this time, “I do know that much, at least. I’m...glad you’re still here. Did you know, Naegi-kun...? That I was almost convinced you’d be the first one to die?”

Naegi shut his eyes tight, thinking of Maizono scared out of her wits and in his arms the same way Komaeda was now, and to this day he hoped her smile had returned in all this time, that she knew he forgave her for everything—and then he thought of those other friends, and he hoped for the same.

“I’m glad though.” Komaeda repeated, and Naegi didn’t say a word. “I really do love you, Naegi-kun... Though compared to anyone else, I don’t really...”

“Komaeda-kun. It’s alright, you know. It’s fine now.”

_She’s gone. But her hold still remains—things are changing though. That much I’m certain about. Everything will be alright as long as we don’t lose..._

“Naegi-kun...?”

“...You should rest a little more, Komaeda-kun. Just rest. It’s fine to rest.”


End file.
